Air control valve



Dec. 15, 1942. A, A MATHESQN 2,304,839

AIR CONTROL VALVE Filed May 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 1/// i 5J V 33;

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A. A. MATHEsoN 2,304,839

AIR CONTROL VALVE Filed May 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ji f "1 "fh fJ ik 43 7g g2 n 5.6 "53.

62g, @@5756 567 2 69 ym fp, Z0 75 l l1 Mo; wand Patented Dec. 15, 1942 Andrew A.

Matheson, Denver, Colo., assignor to Matheson Pneumatic Machinery, Inc., Denver, Colo., a corporation of Colorado Application May 19, 1941, serial No. 394,121

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in valve mechanisms and has reference more particularly to an improved valve mechanism for releasing high pressure air or other gas in puffs, each containing a substantially equal quantity of air, in such a. waythat a series of blasts or puifs will result.

It has been found from extensive experiments that many useful and some unexpected results can be obtained from highly compressed air if it is released in a series of sharp puffs or blasts. In order to obtain the best results for a variety of purposes, it is necessary to employ a valve mechanism which will move to open position almost instantly and which. will automatically close the instant after it has opened;

It has also been found that if the valve is so constructed that the air will be released in the form of an outwardly tapering cone, into a closed chamber, the sudden and violent' agitation of the air eiects a change thaty for Want of better term will be referred to as ionization, as electrical energy seems to be generated and released.

It has been found that if a supply of air or other gas, is restrained by a valve of the poppet type that seats with the pressure so as to be urged into closed position thereby, that if the valve is moved to open position by a sudden blow, as of a hammer,'it will open instantly in response to the impact and as suddenly close when the force of the blow is spent. vThe sudden opening and closing of the valve releases' a quantity of air at a yhigh velocity. When the air is vdischarged into an o utlet chamber having a discharge opening' of vsomewhat limited area, pressure will be built up inthis chamber and since the poppet valve discharges the airy in an outwardly tapering rconical sheet, it will crack or ionize the air.

When the air from the outlet chamber is directed'onto the skin, it exerts a massaging effect and increases the blood circulation whereby beneflcial results are obtained in many ailments.

The air released in a series of lpuffs can also be utilized for many different mechanical operations, such as cleaning carpets and upholstered articles, the projection of projectiles, the transfer of concrete by a specially constructed gun designed for that purpose, for removing snow and for many other purposes.

It is the object'of this invention to produce a valve mechanism by means Iof which highly compressed air, or other gas, can be safely and conveniently released in a series of puffs, each containing substantially the same quantity of air. i

Having thus briefly described the invention and pointed out some of the objects thereof, 'the same will now be described in'detail, and for this purpose reference will now -be had to the accompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the valve mechanism, taken on line I-I, Figure 3;

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 2 2, Figure 1;,

Figure 3 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section, taken on line 3 3, Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section similar to that shown in Figure 1, showing the valve in closed position and showing also the relationship of the springs to the poppet valve and Figure 5 is a vi'ew, partly 4in elevation and partly in section, looking in the direction of arrow 5, in Figure 1.

In the drawings, reference numeral I0 designates a hollow body which is divided by a partition II into a pressure chamber I2 and an outletchamber I3. The partition has an opening I4 and the wall of this opening is provided with a valve seat I5 positioned on the compression chamber side. I The lower end of the body `-Ill is open and provided with a threaded. section I6. A closure member I1 is provided with an upwardly extending threaded portion I8 that is screwed into the open end of the body and this' closure member is also provided with a flange I9 which is separated from the end of the body I0 by means of a gasket 20. The upper end of the closure member has a-depression 2l into which the upper end of` the adjustingscrew 22 vprojects. The downwardly extending portion 23 of member I'I has an enlargedopening 24 for the reception of packing material that is held in place by means of an adjustablegland member 25 that is held in place by a plurality of screws 26. Member 22 is provided at its lower end with a transverse bar 21 by means of which it -can be rotated. Resting on the upper/end of member 22 and positioned in the recess 2l is an abutment member 28 on which a plurality of springs rest. These springs have been designated by reference numerals V29, 30 and 3i. and weaker of the three springsk shown. Spring 30 isfsomewliat stronger than spring 29 and spring 3l is much stronger than either of -the others. The reason for this arrangement of springs will be explained hereinafter. The top 0f thev outlet chamber I3 is closed by an integral Spring 29 is the smaller top 32 which has a central opening in which is located a bushing 33. 'I'he valve stem 34 that projects upwardly from the poppet valve 35 extends through the outlet chamber and through the bushing 33 in the manner shown quite clearly in Figure 1. Springs 29, 30 and 3I extend upwardly from t-he abutment 28- and spring 29 is always under compression engaging the abutment and the under surface of the poppet valve. Spring 23`is of sufllcient strength to hold the poppet valve against the seat at all times except when it is acted upon by the forces provided for periodically opening the valve.

Referring now -to Figure 4, it will be seen that the intermediate spring 30 is spaced approximately one-thirty-second of an inch from the lower surface of the poppet valve when the latter is seated and spring 3l is spaced approximately one-sixteenth of an inch from the valve.

lThe object to be attained by the arrangement :which will hereinafter appear. Whenthe valve is moved to open position, it is resisted only kslightly by the-action of spring 29, fbut when it engages spring 30, this resistance increases greatly and when it engages the powerful spring 3|, the downward movement of the valve ceases almost immediately. The function, therefore of springs 33 and 3| is to provide a resilient stop v for the valve.

Secured to the top of thehollow body I0 is a frame or housing having a bottom 3B, a side wall 31, a top 33 `and ends 39.y This frame or housing is secured to the body III by means. of tap screws 43. The open end of the housing is normally closed by al removable cover 4I that isY shown in Figure 3. A pivot 42 has one end secured to the side 31 and theother end supported pressure prevailing in the pressure chamber l2l will be communicated to the cylinder II and to the piston 5B, and this pressure will tend to,

move the piston with its attached impact member 43 downwardly. A shaft 53 is journaled in suitable bearings in side 31 and cover 4 I, as shown i lution. Whenrthe cam reaches the point where y it no longer engages the roller, the latter is free to move upwardly under,the actionv of gravity and the pressure prevailing in cylinder 5l.

The cylindricalcontainer designated by reference numeral 6-2 is presumed to` contain air or other gas under-'very high pressure, the pressuressome times reaching 1500 pounds or more per square inch, but most generally being somewhat -curely and therefore prevent gas fromilowing lower than this or in the neighborhood of 1000 pounds perl square inch.v When the valve 83 is opened, the pressure prevailing 'in cylinders 32 ,will be communicated through the pipes 34 to the interior ofthe body member Il and the pressure in chamber I2 will then become equal to that inthe cylinder 62.y The `pressure prevailing in chamber I2 will also be communicated to the'cylinder 5,5, through pipe 53. It is apparent that kthe pressure in chamber I2 will act upon the v poppet valve in a manner to vseat the same V"seinto the outlet chamber I3.` If the upper end of valve stemv 34 is now givena sharp blow `-witha a hammer or other impact device, valve 35 will be instantly unseated, thereby permitting some gas or air to escape from chamber I2. It is for. the

purpose of unseating the poppet valve that they impact-member shown andabove described has in an opening in the cover 4I in the manner shown in Figure 2.` An impact member or hammer 43 is provided near one end with avbearing 44 for the reception ofthe pivot 42. Collars 45 and 44 serve to hold the hammer in a predetermined longitudinal position on thepivot.` The lighter or smaller end of the hammer is pro- Vvided with a notch 41 in which is rotatably supported a, roller 43. The impact member or hammer extends to a point to the vleft-of the valve VVstem 34 when viewed as in Figure 1 and terminatesyin a heavy end portionwhich has been `designated by reference numeral 43.` This portion is provided in its inner surface with a recess il which is positioned so as to ybe concentric with,

the`valve stem 34, and positioned inthis recess is a, steel pin'II havingan enlarged head 82. The

pact member is provided with spaced lugs 53v that are perforated for the reception of a piv'ot pin I4. Secured to the top 33 is a cylinder-5l and'- this Vis provided withl a piston '5 3 that is connected with the pivot I4 by means of a connectchamber I2 the opening intothe pipe 53 lbeing indicated by 33a. It will thus be seen that any been provided. Y d

In order to make the impact member function,

-shaft 59 must be rotated in a clockwise direction 'Av cylinder is secured in,an opening in the wall of member I0 and has its inner end in communioationwith the outlet chamber I3. This i cylinder is heldin place` bysuitablevcap screws '68. Cylinder B5 is part of va casting having side members 61 that "are provided` with flanges 3l* through which seeming boue se extend *end `hy means of which they are attached to the bottom .33. Mounted for rotation in bearings 13 inside member 31 is a crank shaft 1I. shaft is provided with spaced crank disks 12 connected by a crank pin 13. The connecting rod14 hasone end connected with the crank" pin 13 and the Vother pivotally connected with piston 1B. A heavy flywheel 16 is attached to one end of shaft 1I and outside of this there is asprocket wheel 11 which is also attached to theushaft 1I.Y Shaft I3 is provided Awith asprocket wheel 11a which fs' mennen resize with vsprechen wheel 11. vand these two .sprocket wheels are` connected by `a sprocket chain 13.'v It is now evident `that shafts i9 andl 1I'wil1A rotate in the same direction and Y. at the same speed. The outlet chamber I3jis ing rod I1. Aipipe I3 connects the interior of thev cylinder with the interior of the compression' provided-with an opening 13 to which an outlet pipe III isthreadedly connec'tec'hl This outlet pipe may be connected directly with a" hose or with another pipeterminating ina nozzle. but

inv Figure 5, it has been shown as connected by means o fga T 8l with connectors 82 that in turn are connected with elbows 83 from which connectors 84 extend. Secured to the ends of connectors 84 are rotary yvalves 85 that are interconnected by means of a shaft 86. These valves have openings 81 positioned at right angles to each other so that when the'shaft is rotated, one or the other of these valves will be open. The discharged air or gas will then pass alternatelyinto the outlet chambers 88. Pipes 89 are connected with chambers 88 and pipes or hose may be connected to pipes 89 for any desired purpose. The shaft 86 is provided with a sprocket wheel 90 andthis is connected by means of a sprocket chain 9| with a similar sprocket wheel 90a secured to the crank shaft 1I as shown in Figures 3 andf5.

Let us now assume that the cylinder 62 contains air under pressure, for example, from 800 to 2000 pounds per square inch, and that valve be communicated through pipe 58 tothe interior of cylinder 55. If shaft 59 is now rotated by means of a crank 92 or 'by any other suitable -means through approximately 360 degrees, it will be observedtha-t cam 60 will move the impact member from full line to dotted line'position and piston 15 will return to approximately the position shown in Figure 1. If the shaft is now rotated until the cam releases the. roller 48, the pressure in cylinder 55 will force the piston 56 downwardly, thereby moving the impact member downwardly at a high rate of speed until the head 52 of the steel pin engages the end of valve stem 34. This impact or hammer blow will unseat the poppet valve, thereby permitting air to escape into. the outlet chamber I3. Due to the upwardly tapered walls of the valve seat and valve, the escaping air will form an upwardly tapered cone and since the streams converge towards the valve stem at an enormous velocity, the extreme agitation'to which the air is subjected will cause ionization of the air particles. Immediately after the valve has been opened, it will be returned to closed position by the action of the air pressure in chamber I2, and the amount of air escaping will therefore be quite limited. When the valve opens the pressure in chamber I3 will immediately rise to a very high value and this pressure will act on the piston 15 causing the shaft 1I and flywheel 16 to turn in a clockwise direction. The flywheel is quite heavy and since the interior of outlet chamber I3 is connected with the atmosphere through the pipes and valves shown in Figure 5, the high pressure therein will soon be dissipated, thereby permitting the ywheel to return the piston 15 to the position shown in Figure 1 and just before this position is reached, the impact member will be released and permit another puff of air to enter the outlet chamber I3, whereupon the piston 15 will move towards the right and in this 'way the operation will continue indeiinitely so long as air under suicient pressure is supplied by cylinder 62.

The engine just described can be replaced by an electric motor, by a gasoline engine, or by any other suitable prime mover, but when the device is constructed ink the manner shown and described, it will be self-contained and can be ing on the under side of the poppet valve will be greater than the force acting on the upper end of the valve stem and therefore the valve will close as soon as the force of the impact has been dissipated.

By means of the adjusting screw 22, the tension of the springs can be adjusted so as to get the most desirable operation. The air puffs produced by this machine can bc employed for many purposes and it is not the intention to describe every use to which this machine may be put, but rather tov limit the description to the construction of the mechanism employed.

Having described the invention, what claimedas new is: v.

l. In a valve mechanism for use in effecting periodic release of quantities of gas under pressure, having a valve body provided with a pressure chamber and an outletI chamber separated by a partition having an opening, a valve seat on the pressure chamber side ofthe partition, and a poppet valve in operative engagement with the valve seat, the pressure of the air tending to hold the valve seated; means for periodically opening the valve comprising a pivoted impact'member having a greater mass on one side of the pivot than on the other, the heavier end being positioned to engage the valve to move it to open position against the action of the force tending to seat it, biasingmeans comprising, a gas pressure responsive device, for urging the impact member into engagement with the valve, means comprising a rotatable cam in operative engagement with the lighter end of the impact member to periodically move it away from the valve in opposition to the biasing means and to suddenly release it whereby it will move, in response to the biasing means, into engagement with the valve, the static forces exerted on the valve by the impact member tending to open the valve, being less than the forces tending to close it whereby the valve will begin to close immediately after the impact member has come to a stop.

2. In a valve mechanism for use in eiecting periodic release of quantities of a. gas under pressure, having a valve body, provided with a pressure chamber separated by a partition having an opening, a valve seat on the pressure chamber side of the partition, and a valve of the poppet type in operative engagement with the valve seat, the pressure of the gas tending to hold the valve seated; means comprising an impact member for delivering a hammer blow to the valve for moving it to open position, biasing means comprising, a gas pressure responsive device, for urging the impact member towards thevalve, the combined vforces due to the weight of the impact member and the action' of the biasing means being less than the force tending to seat the valve, whereby it will seat immediately after it has been opened by the impact, and means comprising a rotatable cam for moving the impact member away from the valve against the action of the biasing means and for quickly releasing it to subject the valve to a hammer blow which moves it toA open position.

3. An impact device for suddenly opening a poppet valve that closes with the pressure, comprising in combination, a frame provided adjacent one end with a bearing whose axis is substantially horizontal, a pivot pin projecting from the frame in spaced parallel relation to the axis of the bearing,'a shaft mounted for rotation in the bearing, a cam secured to the shaft, an impaci member mounted' for cmaucncn in pivot, one end o! `the impact member being lighter cam, whereby when the cam lis rotated the impact member will be rocked on its pivot, and biasing means comprising a gaspressure v ve device for urging the llghter'cnd of the impact vmember against the cam. the heavier end of the impact member being positioned to engage the vend of the poppet valve stem', whereby when the impact member 4is released by the cam it will strike the stem a hammer blow of snmcient intenslty to open the valve, the weight ofthe im-` `thantheotherauclpositionedintherlathofthe.v

pact member plus the torce exerted due to the biasing means, being less than the torce tending to seat the valve after it has been moved to open position by the hammer blow exerted there- ,pact member' comprises, a cylinder and a piston one oflwhich is attached to the impact member" and the other to the trame.

i impact member.

accesso y 6. A device for controlling the iiow of a compressed gas comprising a'body` having a chamber in which gas is present under pressure. one wall of s'aid chamber having anopeningsurrounded lby a valve seat facing the interior of the chamv ber, a poppet valve positioned to engage the seat when in closed position, vmeans for lurging the v'valve towards the seat comprising at least two compression springs of unequal strength, the weaker of which is constantly under compression and has one end in engagement with the valve, the stronger` spring being spaced a short distance from the valve when the latteris closed, and means comprising an impact memberi'or moving the valve to open positionagainst the action of the forces tending to hold it in .closedfpositiom the stronger yspring serving 4as a resilient abutment ,for limiting the opening movement-of the valve in response tothe hammer blow o! the impact member, the combined valve closing force due to the action of the weaker spring and the pressure of the gas being sufficient to close the valve in opposition to the static forcel exerted .thereon by the impact member but insufilcient to resist the-force duetto the momentum of the ANDREW a MATHESN. 

